"Masika, we shouldn't be here." Embarr's voice said in the pitch black darkness. "What if Corridor finds out? You're vulnerable in this world."
"I don't have a choice, Embarr." Masika replied. "You said it yourself; We have to find out if my family are truly prisoners here. If they've been lost for good, then there's no point in putting everyone at risk."
Silence followed, only the sound of Masika and Embarr's footsteps present. A hallway that was dimly lit by a eerie purple glow soon came into view. Its archway was round, not straight and rectangular. As Masika and Embarr entered it, sounds of moaning and crying began to be heard. The stone walls soon gave way to glass, water on the other side and spirits swimming by, moaning and running their hands along the glass in an attempt to ask for help. Embarr shivered at the foreboding sounds and negative energy the unlucky souls of The Shadow Realm gave off, while Masika simply kept her eyes forward, intent on her mission and letting nothing distracting her.
When they came close to the end of the hall, the "soul aquariums" were replaced by stone walls once more. The hall came to a dead end, but Masika bravely walked up to the wall across and rubbed away the grime to reveal another glass wall.
"Chenzira," Masika called out softly. "Chenzira, can you hear me?"
There was movement on the other side. A few heartbeats later, a sphere the size of a tennis-ball that glowed a faint gold appeared in front of the glass. The object seemed to shift in shape and soon a boy was left in its place. He looked just slightly older than Masika, with a sharp face, short blonde hair that floated over his head like a halo, and had the softest aquamarine-colored eyes. His lower body was blurred, so Masika could hardly make out his linen skirt and the egyptian golden necklace that lay flat against his bare chest.
"Masika? Is that you, sister?" the boy asked in a whisper. Even though he was on the other side of the glass, his voice was clear as a bell. He placed his right hand on the glass.
Said girl did the same and tears filled her eyes. "I've missed you, Chenzira. Is everyone with you?"
Her brother nodded. "Yes, but Father and Mother are getting weaker. It's only a matter of time before the shadows completely consume them."
"That's not going to happen," Masika argued. "The Pharaoh is helping me."
"The Pharaoh?" Chenzira repeated. His eyes then grew wide with understanding. "You don't mean…"
Masika nodded. "I'm with his present self now. It's only a matter of time before Corridor is taken down and we can all finally be together again."
Chenzira smiled sweetly. "I'll be waiting." He then faded away.
/
"If you add this to the mainframe, then connect these two wires into the power grid, then the projection will have much clarity and sound will improve by about 107%" Morgan explained. She was standing beside Kaiba in his home office, looking over improvement plans for the Duel Disk. Several different blueprints were laid out on the desk for them to go over.
"I was thinking that as well," Kaiba replied. "However, if we connected those wires, it would short out the grid the moment the Duel Disk was turned on."
"Not if you add this small program to the data base." Morgan pointed to another blueprint. "It's quite common, but very effective in countering any energy that would cause a burn-out."
Kaiba nodded. "That could work. I'll have my programers test this right away." He looked at Morgan and added, "How do you know so much about holographic programming?"
Morgan smiled. "At one time, when I was traveling, I stayed with a man in America who was actually a scientist for N.A.S.A. in the training division. He created a virtual environment for astronauts to train in. He kinda showed me the basics, and I kinda got interested in it and began to study." She rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "The librarians always looked at me kinda weird when I requested books on advanced holographic technology and programming."
"What were they expecting? Doll making and sewing?" Seto seriously joked.
This caused Morgan to burst out in laughter. "God, I missed your funny side. You always made life at the orphanage more tolerant with it."
Kaiba scowled. "What are you talking about?"
Morgan stopped her laughing and made a soft, questionable look. "What happened that made you like this?"
Kaiba relaxed and looked down. "Gozaburo Kaiba happened," he simply replied.
A long silence followed. Kaiba seemed to detached as horrible memories of his childhood came, and Morgan was mentally kicking herself for asking such a personal question. At least a minute had passed when Mokuba came into the room.
"Morgan, there you are," Mokuba said, then saw how his brother and Morgan were close together. "Oh, sorry, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
Morgan quickly shook her head. "N-No, I was just helping Seto with some programming plans. What's up?"
Mokuba looked unconvinced, but went on anyway. "Yugi and the others are downstairs. They were wondering if you wanted to hang out with them today?"
Morgan was surprised by the announcement. She looked at Kaiba.
But Kaiba shook his head. "It's alright. I'm going to give these plans to the programmers anyway, and I have a meeting in an hour."
Morgan made a sympathetic smile. "Okay, Seto. See you later, then." She went out the door, with Mokuba close behind.
Just as Mokuba had said, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Téa, and even Serenity were all downstairs, sitting in chairs and on couches in the waiting room. They all turned and smiled when they saw Morgan, then got up.
"Good to see you on your feet," Téa said sweetly. She looked Morgan up and down and added, "Cute outfit."
Morgan was wearing a tan tank-top with brown lacing on the straps and sewing line, and a short denim skirt. "Thanks. It's much better than those rags I use to call clothes,"she joked.
Everyone laughed. Morgan used this opportunity to take a quick glance at Yugi's wrist. She was relieved to see that he still had the bracelet on, though he tried his best to cover it with the sleeve of his school jacket.
"Shall we go?" Yugi said when the laughing died down.
As they all began to leave, Morgan promised Mokuba that she would be back before sunset. They all took a bus that led into town, and Téa explained to Morgan how she had thought it would be an awesome idea if they gave her a tour of Domino City.
On the ride there, Morgan was able to get a moment with Yugi. "Thank-you," she whispered
Yugi looked at her with a confused look. "For what?"
Morgan smiled, then indicated to the half-concealed bracelet around his wrist. "For the other night, and for keeping the bracelet. If we ever get the chance, I'll explain everything."
Yugi only nodded and turned back to watch the city pass by.
The day was beautiful, perfect for walking around and enjoying the activity of Domino. The gang showed Morgan all the hot spots, including the arcade, park, and KaibaDome. From time to time they stopped to watch a group of kids duel, and they later got burgers at the new restaurant.
It was the first time since her arrival in Domino City where Morgan could relax and not worry about Corridor showing up. As long as Yugi kept the bracelet on, everyone was safe from the man's evil clutches.
They were all walking around the park when Morgan finally spoke up. "I think it's time I told you all."
Everyone stopped and looked at her with questionable looks, except for Yugi, who merely looked at her with understanding.
"Let's all go to my place," Yugi said.
Morgan nodded in thanks.
/
Yugi's grandfather was not due back from his trip from visiting with Professor Hawkins until late that night, so the game shop was closed and Yugi and the others had the house to themselves.
Once they had all settled into the living room, Morgan went on explaining about what had happened the other night to Joey and the others. They were all quite surprised when they heard that she knew about Atem. It even brought Téa near the brink of tears remembering the Pharaoh. They were even more surprised when Morgan continued and stated how, like Kaiba, she had a past life in Ancient Egypt. Then came the part where she told them about the ritual that she and Yugi went through. Morgan was not all that surprised that the others were not quite pleased with the danger she could have put Yugi through, for which she was ashamed. But she felt slightly better when Yugi defended her actions.
Once Morgan was done, Yugi revealed his bracelet to the others, gaining a few gasps and curious looks from his friends. He looked at Morgan and asked, "I've been wondering what these hieroglyphs mean. Could you tell me?"
Morgan nodded. "It's a charm that was designed by a master magician five thousand years ago in the city Embarr. Their purpose was to protect the bearer from the influence of Corridor, the man who is after me."
"Wait; so you're saying that the same guy who's trying to kill you now also existed five thousand years ago!?" Joey exclaimed.
"Yes," Morgan replied. Turning back to Yugi she added, "The symbols on the bracelet states this: 'Thee bearer of this gift, may thee be protected from the Great Darkness, and become a member of The Court of The Guardians of Embarr.' Basically, as long as you wear that bracelet, Corridor can't touch you and you are a Guardian of Embarr, who's purpose is to protect the sole survivor of Embarr, Princess Masika."
"You mean... I'm your guardian?" Yugi asked with a slightly scared voice.
Morgan nodded. "Correct. There's no need for me to give Kaiba this gift, since in his past life he and I were connected. You don't need to worry though; you went through a lot when you were together with the Pharaoh, and I didn't want any harm to come to you, otherwise Pharaoh Atem would have my head when I returned to The Spirit World if you got hurt." Yugi made a surprised face, making Morgan laugh. "Don't look so surprised; just because he's gone doesn't mean he's left you for good . A piece of his spirit watches you even now."